I’m sitting in my Atlanta apartment, cozied up in a sweater, and sipping on this warm Golden Chai Hot Chocolate. I have officially lived in Atlanta for one year, and this apartment is the first apartment I’ve ever lived in alone. I look around and think about who I was a year ago, and it’s astounding to me to consider how much my life could evolve within the same four walls.

A year ago I was sipping on a Coconut Dirty Chai. A year ago I had no idea how to be alone. A year ago Brewing Happiness was *just* becoming a business to me. I was burnt out by LA. I was in the very fragile stages of learning to love my body. I had two less tattoos than I do now. I didn’t even have a YouTube channel. I didn’t know that I had bulging discs in my lower back. I was dancing around my apartment to Adele’s “Hello” (no shame.) A year ago I was a different human sitting in the same place in my apartment, cozied up in the same sweater.

There is a certain crispness in the air, and a certain darkness in winter that always makes me nostalgic for what once was. But this year it feels more fitting to take stock of what wasn’t and what now is. I am proud of myself for what I have done this year. I am proud of myself for the nights I have cried myself to sleep, for the friends I have made, for the things I have had to figure out on my own, for learning to eat intuitively and take care of my body, and for taking a boat loads of risks. I am proud of myself for developing this Golden Chai Hot Chocolate recipe with Stash Tea (it’s really good.)

I am trying to be proud of myself each and every day for all of the small things I have been able to accomplish. This does not come easily or naturally to me, but I know it is important. I know it is necessary for each one of us to be proud of the things we value in ourselves and to dissect the things we dislike. This is how we grow into the humans we want to be – with self kindness, not with anger or resentment.

So now I must ask you, what are you proud of yourself for in the last year? Take stock of who you were, where you were, what the world felt like. And then look around your home, breathe in a deep breath and truly be proud. My guess is that you’ve come farther than you’d imagined.

Refine yourself with kindness. Cultivate moments that make you proud. It sounds cheesy, but maybe you should write down the things you’re proud of or look in the mirror and repeat them to yourself. It might be hard and it might feel strange, but it will be worth it. Then I want you to sit down with a warm cup of Golden Chai Hot Chocolate and reward yourself for your progress.

I wish I could give each one of you a gold metal or a gold star or whatever, but I can’t. So instead I’ll give you a hot chocolate with Holiday Chai and turmeric in it. (It’s golden in color at least.) You deserve to be honored for your efforts this year. It’s been a tough one, and you deserve to feel the bigness of what you’ve done. Let’s change our own hearts with self kindness, because that is how we can truly change the world.

Hi, This looks really great and.makes me happy that I still have a few bags of Holiday Chai left. I also have some Stash Gold Cup Chai. Do you think I could replace one or two bags of Holiday Chai with those and leave out the tumeric? How does the coconut oil factor into the hot chocolate?

You totally could try it with the Gold Cup Chai! I bet it would be really good. The coconut oil helps the turmeric absorb into your body so you get more benefits! Plus, it makes it really decadent. Hope you enjoy! xoxo

Hey…just thought I would stop in and say hello today! And I’m glad I did. Loved this post. The recipe looks tasty and perfect for the holiday season. And congrats on all the good stuff of the year. Cheers!